First Lutheran Church, Duluth

The Singers

THE SINGERS CONCERT COMMEMORATES THE LIFE OF BEN LARSON (THE SON OF DULUTH PASTORS) WHO DIED IN HAITI EARTHQUAKE

The Singers, a professional 44-voice chamber choir from Minneapolis will present a program entitled “Mid-Winter Journey-Songs of Love, Loss, and Healing “in First Lutheran Church in Duluth on February 26, 2012 at 4.00pm.  The program includes a new work composed by Joshua Shank in memory of Ben Larson who during his senior year at Wartburg seminary went to Haiti to teach theology to pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti.  Ben was serving in Haiti in January 2010, when the earthquake struck.

The Singers led by artistic director Matthew Culloton gave an educational performance in Duluth in 2008. This year, The Singers organization has a deeply personal connection with the First Lutheran Church. Ben Larson’s parents are the Rev. April Ulring Larson, senior pastor of First Lutheran Church (FLC), Duluth and former ELCA bishop, and the Rev. Judd Larson, associate pastor of FLC.  In early 2010, the FLC pastors’ son, Ben Larson, died in the Haiti earthquake.  Ben was on the trip with his wife Renee and cousin Jonathan (all students at Wartburg seminary).  After the earthquake, Renee,  heard Ben singing, not unusual for Ben who loved music. “Ben spent his last breath singing.”  Ben was a graduate of Luther College as well as a prolific musician, and several of The Singers were classmates with Ben at Luther. A relative of one of these classmates and choir members commissioned a new choral work in Ben’s memory from Singers composer-in-residence Joshua Shank. Other programming for this concert features a variety of contemplative choral masterpieces from Morten Lauridsen, Ysaye Barnwell and Johannes Brahms.

Ben Judd Larson

Founded in 2004, The Singers organization is dedicated to giving world-class performances of the finest choral literature. The Singers exists to serve as artists, educators, and ambassadors of the choral art. The Singers has premiered and commissioned over fifty new works by composers Stephen Paulus, Abbie Betinis, Jocelyn Hagen and Craig Carnahan. In March 2011, The Singers performed at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Chicago. This Duluth performance is funded, in part, by the Minnesota State Arts Board through the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

TICKETS:  $10 adults/$5 students (218) 728-1484 EXT.212

MORE INFO: www.singersmca.org

Matthew Culloton, Founding Artistic Director

Let’s Make a Movie
Fri., Feb. 24, 10 to 5 at FLC
Want to be the producer, director, and everything of your very own movie? Using stories from the Bible the group will turn them into works of art to be used at First Lutheran. It is up to each person, the creative mind, to decide how and what is used for the project. Maybe it is a stop motion, maybe pictures with Legos, play-doh, or even finger puppets. It is completely up to you! Get hands on
experience with working a digital video camera and editing program. Food and materials are included.

No school? No problem! Let’s Go Skiing!
Skiing at Spirit Mt., Thurs., Feb. 23 all day If at least 15 people sign up, the group qualifies for a group rate. Youth interested in joining Chad and friends, please contact Chad before Feb. 20 in order to get the discount.  Meet at the church at 10:00 a.m. on Feb. 23 and “ski till we can’t ski any more”. Just a reminder, youth account dollars can pay for this event (if you’ve been fundraising) otherwise the total will be figured out after getting the group rate.

Tuesday, Feb. 21, Feed My Starving Children in the Twin Cities
We are jumping in the church van and heading down to the Twin Cities to serve at Feed My Starving Children.  It is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, and we ship the meals to nearly 70 countries around the world.
We’ll leave from the church at 9:00 a.m. and return around 7:00 p.m. The only cost to you is your meals. Space is limited as we are only taking 15 people total so it is first come first serve. Get signed up right away so you don’t miss this opportunity.

Lent 2012  “Your Shall Love the Lord Your God”

IIn Mark 12, a scribe comes to ask Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answers, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength’” (Mark 12: 28-30).  These words form a covenant between God and God’s people and show us a
way to respond to this God who so extravagantly loves us through the cross. First Lutheran Church will focus on this theme during Lent through worship, personal reflection and book study. Watch for additional information in announcements, First News and In the Fold.

Ash Wednesday

Wed., Feb. 22 – Services at 1:00 and 5:30 p.m.
Lenten meal following 5:30 service.

Lenten Services

Feb. 29, Mar. 7, 14, 21, 28 at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday services at 5:30 p.m during Lent will continue to use the Holden Evening Prayer format, using Marty Haugen’s beautiful liturgy and songs, and this year will again include a time for Prayer Around the Cross.

Lenten Suppers

Meals served following Lenten services

Book Study

Our Lives are Not Our Own – Saying “Yes” to God by Rochelle Melander and Harold Eppley. Sign up in the Gathering Space for a small group.

Looking Ahead: Mark your calendars for
Day Camp Week 2012
The staff from Voyageurs Lutheran Ministry will be at First Lutheran on August 6-10, 2012 to lead us in an amazing camp experience. Kids entering Kindergarten through 6th Grade are welcome to attend! Invite your friends too! Watch for more information on Camp Sunday which will be in January.

The Year of Celebration Continues …

The Singers

February 26, 4 PM – The Singers Concert commemorates the life of Ben Larson (The son of Pastors April Ulring Larson & Judd Larson) who died in the Haiti earthquake.

 The Singers, a professional 44-voice chamber choir from Minneapolis will present a program entitled “Mid-Winter Journey-Songs of Love, Loss, and Healing “in First Lutheran Church in Duluth on February 26, 2012 at 4.00pm.  The program includes a new work composed by Joshua Shank in memory of Ben Larson who during his senior year at Wartburg seminary went to Haiti to teach theology to pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti.  Ben was serving in Haiti in January 2010, when the earthquake struck.

The Singers led by artistic director Matthew Culloton gave an educational performance in Duluth in 2008. This year, The Singers organization has a deeply personal connection with the First Lutheran Church. Ben Larson’s parents are the Rev. April Ulring Larson, senior pastor of First Lutheran Church (FLC), Duluth and former ELCA bishop, and the Rev. Judd Larson, associate pastor of FLC.  In early 2010, the FLC pastors’ son, Ben Larson, died in the Haiti earthquake.  Ben was on the trip with his wife Renee and cousin Jonathan (all students at Wartburg seminary).  After the earthquake, Renee,  heard Ben singing, not unusual for Ben who loved music. “Ben spent his last breath singing.”  Ben was a graduate of Luther College as well as a prolific musician, and several of The Singers were classmates with Ben at Luther. A relative of one of these classmates and choir members commissioned a new choral work in Ben’s memory from Singers composer-in-residence Joshua Shank. Other programming for this concert features a variety of contemplative choral masterpieces from Morten Lauridsen, Ysaye Barnwell and Johannes Brahms.

Founded in 2004, The Singers organization is dedicated to giving world-class performances of the finest choral literature. The Singers exists to serve as artists, educators, and ambassadors of the choral art. The Singers has premiered and commissioned over fifty new works by composers Stephen Paulus, Abbie Betinis, Jocelyn Hagen and Craig Carnahan. In March 2011, The Singers performed at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Chicago. This Duluth performance is funded, in part, by the Minnesota State Arts Board through the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

TICKETS:  $10 adults/$5 students (218) 728-1484 EXT.212

MORE INFO: www.singersmca.org  and www.flcduluth.org

Matthew Culloton, Founding Artistic Director

Sunday, Mar. 4, 4:00 p.m : Solo organ recital by  Internationally-Acclaimed Organist Dr. Charles Sundquist

Duluth native and internationally-acclaimed organist Dr. Charles Sundquist will present an organ recital featuring the music of J.S. Bach, J. P. Sweelinck, Helmut Walcha,  Dietrich Buxtehude,  Johannes Brahms, César Franck and Max Reger. Free admission.

Dr. Charles Sundquist, a native of Duluth, Minnesota, is the choral director at Mountain Lakes High School in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey.  Previously he was Director of Choirs at Princeton High School for 15 years. His choirs have sung for ACDA Conventions, NYC, the White House, and his choirs have toured to  London, Paris, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Leipzig, Eisenach, Berlin, Budapest, Vienna, Dresden, Prague and Stockholm.  He is a graduate of UMD, a students of the late Ronald Gauger, and received his Doctorate in Organ Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, a student of David Craighead.

He won a Prix d’Excellence from the Conservatoire de Région de Ruiel-Malmaison in France, a student of Marie-Claire Alain.  While in Paris, he was Associate Choirmaster at the American Episcopal Cathedral, accompanist for a Paris ballet school, and coach/accompanist for members of the Paris Opera Chorus.  Dr. Sundquist was finalist in the Clarence Mader Competition, numerous AGO Regional competitions and recitalist for the AGO Regional Convention in Pasadena, CA. He has held posts as Organist/Choirmaster at First Presbyterian of Santa Ana, CA, Associate organist Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Organ Scholar at Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York City, and associate organist at St. Clement’s, Philadelphia.   He is also currently Musical Director for McCarter Theater in Princeton, and was Associate Musical Director and pianist for their production of My Fair Lady, in conjunction with the Shakespeare Theater of Chicago.

Fri., Apr. 6, 1:00 & 7:30 p.m.: FLC’s annual presentation of The Seven Last Words of Christ by Theodore Dubois.

Sat., Apr. 21, 7:30 p.m.: John Ferguson performs his final concert prior to retirement with the St. Olaf Cantorei

LSS Proposed Center for Changing Lives and First Lutheran Church

The First Lutheran Church buildings on the corner of 12^th Ave. E and Superior Street, typically referred to as the “Old Dental Building” and the “Transitional Living House”, are being studied as a potential site of a  joint  venture between Lutheran Social Services of Duluth and FLC  to build a  new building called the “Center for Changing Lives”.   It might be helpful to recall the history of those buildings and how this proposed new building fits into our church mission and strategic plan.

The dental building and attached house had long served as a functioning dental office and home for the dentist who developed the office. Sometime prior to his death, he had converted the house into four small apartments which he rented at market rates.    When the dentist was killed in a plane crash, the FLC administrator, Phil Friest, with Planning Council approval, approached the executors of the dentists estate and offered to buy the building.  The idea was that the building would eventually be torn down to provide for more on-site parking for FLC members.

For the first couple of years after the purchase, FLC ran the dental building and house as it had been run by the dentist.  A new dentist rented the dental building and a reality company was contracted to rent out the apartments in the house.   It should be noted that the house itself was not in good condition and was not a quality building from the beginning.

About a year or two after the sale one the FLC pastors suggested that FLC should reconsider the use of the house and make it into something that fit the mission of the church.  The Planning Council agreed and developed a plan to make the house into a place where down-and-out families could temporarily live until they could get their lives back in order.   CHUM was contacted to assist in identifying families for the house.  The house was renamed to the “FLC Transitional Living House”.  A small task force was appointed to oversee the operation.  The FLC Board of Operations did necessary upgrades to the house to make it safe and livable.  The dental building continued to serve as a dental facility.

A number of years later the dentist who rented the dental office retired.  It was obvious that the dental building had become obsolete for the modern practice of dentistry so was refurbished by the Board of Operations as a general office building.  After significant advertising, only one potential renter came forward with a proposal to rent the building, a tattoo parlor.  The Planning Council turned down the offer saying it did not fit the church mission.

Then came LSS of Duluth who offered to lease the building as a visitation center where families and individuals that needed, or required, supervised visits could meet in privacy and dignity. The Planning Council readily agreed to the proposal since it fit with the church mission.   A group of FLC volunteers refurbished the basement of the building and LSS moved in and today runs a very successful program.

The LSS Changing Lives Building proposal would tear down the dental building and the transitional house and build a 10 million dollar building that would house all of LSS Duluth operations including an expansion of the highly successful Renaissance House and Health Center for teenage youth.  Fund raising would be the responsibility of LSS.

The new building would include two levels of underground parking, one level which would be available to FLC at all times, and both levels available to FLC on weekends.  The new parking would increase FLC weekly parking space by about 50% and Sunday parking by about 100%.  More importantly, the new building would move forward the mission of FLC to serve all of God’s children who are in need.  It is a plan that could be a win/win for both LSS and FLC.

The LSS proposal is very preliminary at this stage and there are many questions to be considered and answered.   As the plan moves forward, there will be every opportunity for FLC members to study the plans, weigh in with their opinions, and vote on any major agreements between LSS and FLC.  It is an exciting opportunity and we hope that all FLC members will stay involved and informed.

Submitted by Tom Boman, member of the Board of Church in Society

dated:  9-26-2011

Download this information in a Word document:  FLC-LSS Changing Lives Plan 9-26-11

First Lutheran Church Foundation Mission Statement: To support and enhance Christ’s ministry at First Lutheran Church by reaching out into our immediate community and beyond our borders with helping and healing hands.
The First Lutheran Foundation is committed to encourage, manage, and distribute bequest, gift and endowment resources. Each gift, regardless of amount,
will continue to provide for the work of this church through our lifetime and for future generations. The Foundation provides a structure upon which a
permanent financial base to support and extend the mission of this congregation.

Web Page
Check out the Foundation web page at: www.flcduluthfoundation.org

Friday Morning Bible Study with Pastor Larson begins again this fall, Friday, Sept. 16 in the Parish Hall from 9:30-11:00 a.m. All are welcome.
Come early and grab a cup of tea or coffee.  All are welcome!

Sunday Morning Education for Growing Disciples!
During the Education Hour 9:45-10:45 a.m.
Parish Hall
We are all growing disciples, no matter our age!  Every faith journey needs nourishment and encouragement!  Each Sunday morning throughout the education  year, you are invited to come to the Parish Hall to learn more about God’s Word and living a life of faith. This is like a big Sunday school class for adults of all ages and older youth not involved in any other education opportunities. Treats will be provided! New students are always welcome and encouraged to attend! Once or twice a month a large group Bible study will be offered. The topics for study will coincide with the stories that kids in the Faith Quest rotation classes will be learning or the lectionary text from worship.
The other Sundays will offer special topics presented by various groups of First Lutheran Church. A schedule for the month will be posted in the Parish Hall and In the Fold.

10-12 Grade RECHARGE
This coming school year we are looking to start a 10-12 grade group called RECHARGE. The intent of this group is to develop leaders, grow spiritually and faithfully together, and
become an active part of the congregation’s mission and vision. More details will be coming!

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson recently made remarks regarding the recent suicides by young people who have been bullied.  Hanson adds his voice to the more than 3,000 videos in the It Gets Better project with words of reassurance and hope to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, saying, “You are a beloved child of God.”

View the video

Transcript of It Gets Better Video by Bishop Mark Hanson

The following is the transcript of Bishop Mark Hanson’s remarks …
My name is Mark Hanson, and I am presiding bishop of the largest Lutheran church in North America — the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  I am a father of six and a grandfather of four. I’ve listened with pain and shock to reports of young people taking their lives because they’ve been bullied and tormented for being different, for being gay or perceived to be gay, for being the people God created them to be. I can only imagine what it’s like to be bullied for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.  But I do know how bullying can destroy someone.  One day, I came home and found our daughter curled up in the fetal position on the floor  weeping uncontrollably. She was struggling to know who she was as a bi-racial young woman.  She felt bruised by words people had spoken about her, words that ate away at her sense of identity and self-worth. I sat down by her on the floor holding her in my arms.  Words have the power to harm and the power to heal.  Sometimes the words of my Christian brothers and sisters have hurt you. And I also know that our silence causes you pain.

Today, I want to speak honestly with you and offer you the hope I have in Christ:
You are a beloved child of God. Your life carries the dignity and the beauty of God’s creation. God has called you by name and claimed you forever. There’s a place for you in
this world and in this church. As a Christian I trust that God is working in this world for justice and peace through you and through me.  It gets better.  “For I’m convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Join the new Facebook group First Lutheran Church Duluth Women-FLCW to share and get the latest “M & M” (Mary & Martha) event info.